Quilting machine guide-track



Jan. 14, 1969 D. R. CASH 3,421,464

QUILTING MACHINE GUIDE-TRACK Filed Feb. 16, 1965 Sheet of 2 END EDGE 238 SIDE EDGE 2| TWIN-SIZE INTERRUPTION 2s THREE-QUARTER 3a FULL-SIZE 44QUEEN-SIZE END EDGE 24 D ID SIDE EDGE 22 INVENTOR, FIG. u FIG. l2DAV'DRCASH I I ATTORNEY United States Patent 1 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE quilt assemblies for variously sized mattresses, such asthose ranging from twin size through full size to king-size, which varyin side-to-side width from about 30% below to about 48% above full sizeand in top-to-bottom length from about full size to about 14% above fullsize.

A conventional quilting machine of the endless guidetrack typecomprises: (A) a sewing machine having an an upper thread-sewingmechanism and a lower threadlocking mechanism; (B) a stationaryfloor-mounted main frame having (1) a pair of horizontally-spacedverticallyarranged side standards and (2) a pair of vertically-spacedhorizontally-arranged cross members extending from one side standard tothe other, including (a) a transverse base frame for the lowerthread-locking mechanism and (b) a transverse head frame for the upperthread-sewing mechanism; (C) movable carriage means mounted on the floorto support a workpiece for operative universal uniplanar movementrelative to said sewing machine, said carriage means including (1) alower carriage mounted on the floor for longitudinal back and forthmovement, and (2) an upper carriage mounted on the lower carriage fortransverse back and forth movement; (D) an elongate endless guide-trackshaped to reproduce a given sewing line pattern or design andstationarily mounted on the upper carriage with its lengthwise dimensionextending parallel to the lengthwise dimension or longitude of thequilting machine and at right angles to a transverse plane passingvertically through the head and base frames; and (E) drive means foroperating the sewing machine and for driving said guide-track so as tomove the carriage means along a path reproducing said sewing line designand thereby cause the stationary sewing mechanism to sew that designinto the workpiece. The term operative universal uniplanar movement isused to designate operative movement in any direction within ahorizontal (or equivalent) plane.

Since quilting machines are conventionally used to sew quilt assembliesin sizes corresponding to the full range of mattress sizes, it isnecessary to stock one series of endless guide-track in a correspondingrange of sizes for any one sewing pattern or design and another seriesfor each different sewing pattern or design. This is indicated in thefollowing table showing the full range of the more widely used mattresssizes (which are also identified by assigning size-numbers 1 through 5to them) and the corresponding 3,421,464 Patented Jan. 14, 1969 range ofendless guide-track sizes usually stocked for such mattress.

1 Size-number 5(b) normally varies in W from 72 to 80. 2 Size-number5(b) normally varies in L from 74 to 84.

In carrying out the conventional quilting or sewing operation, it iscustomary to mount both the unsewn quilt assembly and the guide-trackfor that assembly on the quilting machine with their correspondinglength dimensions extending parallel to the length or longitude of themachine so that the lengthwise dimension of the design is sewn not onlylengthwise on the quilt assembly but also lengthwise along the machine.

It is also customary to provide some quilting machines with twotransversely-spaced sewing machines and with one guide-track of fulllength but only half width. With this arrangement, two identicalpatterns, each of full length but only half width, will besimultaneously sewn lengthwise along the machine and lengthwise on thequilt assembly in side-by-side relationship with their innermostlongitudinal side edges (a) touching each other when the spacing betweenthe sewing machines equals said half width, (b) overlapping each otherwhen said half widths exceed said spacing, and (c) spaced from eachother when said spacing exceeds said half width. This arrangement hasthe advantage of reducing the size and expense of the guidetrack andsubstantially increasing the capacity of the machine.

The present invention relates broadly to quilting machines having one ormore sewing machines.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide aquilting machine which can be easily, quickly and inexpensively adaptedto sew one pattern over one area of one length and one width (sayhalf-width or full-width) on one size of quilt-assembly in the twin-sizeto king-size range, which can be easily and quickly changed to sew thesame pattern over a different area of say the same length and adifferent width on a different size of quilt assembly in said range.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide aquilting machine with an improved guidetrack which can be used in sewingone pattern over a wide range of different areas on a correspondingrange of differently-sized quilt-assemblies.

All of the foregoing objects of my invention may be achieved bysectionalizing a guide-track so that it may be varied in width over adesired range which may extend from twin-size to king-size. Moreparticularly, my invention may be carried out by doing the following:(1) providing a king-size guide-track having transverse end edges atopposite ends of its largest (i.e. king-size) length dimension andlongitudinal side edges at opposite ends of its (king-size) widthdimension; (2) interrupting that guide-track along differentlongitudinal narrow band-like limits which are parallel to onelongitudinal side edge and which are spaced therefrom at differentdistances corresponding to the different width dimensions desired; and

(3) providing, for each interruption, a removable turnaround section anda removable extension section, each turn-around section restricting thesewing operation to the corresponding width and each extension sectionextending the guide-track beyond the limit provided by the turnaroundsection it replaces.

With this arrangement, a single king-size guide-track will provide atwin-size width from one of its longitudinal side edges to the firstinterruption, a three-quarter width from that same longitudinal sideedge to the second interruption, a full-size width to the thirdinterruption and a queen-size width to the fourth interruption. Whenthis sectionalized king-size guide-track is to be used in sewingking-size quilt assemblies, an extension section is placed in eachinternuption. When it is to be used in sewing twin-sizequilt-assemblies, a turn-around section is placed in the first ortwin-size interruption. For each intermediate size of quilt-assembly,larger than twin-size and smaller than king-size, a turn around sectionis placed in the interruption corresponding to that larger size while anextension section is placed in each interruption which corresponds toeach smaller size.

Where one single guide-track, sectionalized for transverse adjustmenttfrom twin-size to king-size, is used in combination with one sewingmachine, that combination will sew a twin-size design completely acrossthe width of a twin-size area and each larger design completely acrossthe width of each larger sewing area. This arrangement presents noproblem. However, when one such sectionalized guide-track is reduced inwidth (to, say, half width) for use in combination with two transverselyspaced sewing machines, one sewing machine will sew a twin-size designcompletely across the width of one-half of the sewing area of atwin-size quilt assembly while the other sewing machine will duplicatethat design at a transverse distance equal to the needle spacing. Thispresents problems.

For example, with one 14" wide twin-size guide-track and two sewingmachines transversely spaced 14 inches apart, the guide track willcooperate with one sewing machine to sew one 14" wide design on one-halfof the 28" wide sewing area of the twin-size quilt assembly while theother sewing machine will sew a duplicate 14" wide design 14 inchesaway. In such case, the 14" wide designs will be in side-by-siderelationship on the 28" wide sewing area without one design overlappingthe other or being spaced from the other. However, when the half widthguide-track is adjusted to king-size half width widths of say 32.", onesewing machine will sew one design of 32" king-size half width onone-half of the 64" wide sewing area of a king-size assembly while theother machine will sew its 32" king-size half width design only 14inches away producing an 18" overlap and an aggregate width of only 50"instead of 64".

Similarly, if the needle spacing and guide-track width are both made32", the duplicate king-size half width designs will be in side-by-sideedge abutting relationship aggregating the full king-size width of 64".Now, when the guide-track is adjusted to a 14" width, the sewingmachines will cooperate to sew duplicate 14" designs, which are spacedsome 32 inches apart on a center-tocenter basis. As a result, theirinner edges will be spaced some 18" apart and this spacing, plus theirrespective 14" widths, will produce an aggregate width of 46" from theouter edge of one design to the outer edge of the other design. In thiscase, since the twin-size sewing area available is only 28", the 46"aggregate width of the two patterns exceeds the available sewing area bysome 18".

Another important object of this invention is to overcome thisdifliculty in sewing duplicate patterns over a range of different widthsand to make possible the sewing of (full, overlapping or spaced)duplicate designs of desired widths in each different size over the fullrange of widths.

This object is accomplished by sectionalizing the guidetrack foradjustment in width (throughout the range desired) and by sewing thevariable width dimension of the duplicate patterns in directionsparallel to each other instead of toward and away from each other. Moreparticularly, this phase of my invention is accomplished by mountingboth the unsewn quilt assembly and the guidetrack for that assembly onthe quilting machine with their corresponding length-dimensionsextending across the machine rather than along the machine and withthevariable width dimension of the guide-track and the correspondingwidth dimension of the quilt-assembly extending along the machine ratherthan across it. In this way, the relatively constant lengthwisedimension of one design is sewn lengthwise on the top or bottom half ofthe quilt assembly but crosswise on the machine while the (variable)width dimension of said one design is sewn crosswise on the same half ofthe quilt-assembly but lengthwise along the machine. The duplicatedesign is similarly sewn across the other half of the quilt-assembly.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a quilting machine of the type using twotransversely spaced sewing machines, the guide track being schematicallyshown in a somewhat conventional manner;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a king-size guide-track sectionalized inaccordance with my invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the guide track of FIG. 2 with allremovable sections removed therefrom;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the FIG. 3 guide-track with a removableturn-around section in the twin-size interruption;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a turn-aroundsection in the three-quarter width interruption and an extension sectionin the twin-size interruption;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the FIG. 3 guide-track with extension sectionsin the 1st three interruptions and a turn-around section in the 4th orqueen-size interruption;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a removable turn-around section used forthe twin-size width;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the extension section used in the twin-sizeinterruption;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are plan views of the turn-around and extension sectionsused in the three-quarter, full-size and queen-size interruptions; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are removably mounted track sections for changing thesewing path.

CONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE The quilting machine shown in FIG. 1conventionally comprises: (A) a support; (B) a pair of sewing machines;(C) movable carriage means; (D) an endless guide-track means; and (E)drive means.

The element A support is provided by the floor Al on which the quiltingmachine rests and a stationary floormounted metal frame having a pair ofhorizontally-spaced vertically-arranged side standards A2 and a pair ofver tically-spaced horizontally-arranged upper and lower cross framemembers A3 and 4A extending from one side standard to the other andsecured to both, the upper cross member A3 constituting head frame A3and the lower cross member A4 constituting base frame A4.

The element B sewing machines B6 and B7, each have an upperthread-sewing mechanism or sewing head mounted on the head frame A3 anda lower thread-locking mechanism, which cannot be seen in FIG. 1,mounted on the base frame A4. Each sewing machine is conventional;hence, it vertically reciprocates a vertically-arranged needle bar, thelower end of which removably carries a sewing needle, and also raisesand lowers a vertically-arranged presser foot bar, the lower end ofwhich carries a presser foot. It operates its thread-locking mechanismin timed relationship with its sewing needle;

The element C carriage means is conventionally mounted on the floor tosupport a workpiece for operative universal uniplanar movement. Thiscarriage means conventionally includes: a lower carriage C8 mounted onlongitudinal floor tracks for longitudinal back and forth movement alongthe machine and an upper carriage C9 mounted on transverse tracks(carried by the lower carriage C8) for right-and-left movement relativeto the lower carriage and for universal uniplanar movement relative tothe sewing machines.

The element D endless guide track means is conventionally arranged onthe upper carriage C9. It is conventionally composed of a base D10 andan endless guidetrack D11, which is contoured to reproduce a givensewing line design. The contour of track D11 establishes the pattern ofmovement which the upper carriage C9 will follow in causing the sewingmachines B6 and B7 to sew duplicate sewing line designs into theworkpiece.

The element E drive means is in the form of an electric drive motor E14which is fixedly mounted on the frame within one of the side standardsA2 and which is connected (a) to the sewing heads on cross head fra-rneA3, (b) to the thread-locking mechanisms on cross base frame A4 and (c)a pattern follower E15 mounted on base frame A4 to depend therefrom. Thelower end of the pattern follower E15 has driving engagement with theendless guide-track D11 for moving that track and the upper carriage C9in accordance with the contour of track and, therefore, in accordancewith the sewing line design. The intersections of the guide-track D11and the track-engaging drive wheel of the follower E15 may be andpreferably are constructed as shown in my U.S. Patent No. 3,127,888granted Apr. 7, 1964.

INVENTIVE STRUCTURE In accordance with one phase of my invention, theguide-track D11 is sectionalized to permit the adjustment of itsoperative width to dimensions ranging, in magnitude, preferably fromtwin-size to king-size. In accordance with another phase of myinvention, each quilt assembly is mounted with its width dimensionextending parallel to the longitude of the machine and with its lengthdimension extending transversely across the machine while each guidetrack D11 not only is made of half length and of sectionalized fullwidth and is mounted with its half length and full width respectivelyextending transversely and longitudinally of the machine but is alsopositioned so that one sewing machine sews the top half of the quiltassembly and the other sewing machine sews the bottom half thereof.

Sectionalized guide track The endless guide-track D11 has opposite sideedges 21-22 and opposite end edges 23-24 which are spaced to provide itwith half length and full width dimensions L and W of any desiredmagnitude. Conforming to Table I, we shall assume that its half-lengthside-edge dimension L approximates 32 inches and that its full-width endedge dimension W approximates 64 inches.

SIZE-INTERRUPTIONS The width of track D11 is interrupted at spacedintervals. These longitudinally-extending interruptions preferably aremade to divide the width dimension of the guide-track into sectionscorresponding to the desired range of sewing area widths indicated inthe last column of Table I. In other words, proceeding widthwise, fromone extreme side edge 21 toward the other extreme side edge 22, thetrack D11 is interrupted at intervals along longitudinally-extendinglines from one end edge 23 to the other end edge 24, to provide: fromside edge 21 up to interruption 28, a twin-size width of 28 inches; from21 up to 38, a three-quarter width of 38 inches; up to 44, a full-sizewidth of 44 inches; up to 50,

a queen-size Width of inches; and up to the other end edge 24, aking-size width of 64 inches.

On one side of the twin-size interruption 28, the permanent part of thetwin-size portion of the guide track D11 terminates in pairs of adjacentinterrupted track sections 26 and 27. Similarly, on the opposite side ofinterruption 28, the permanent part of the three-quarter portion of theguide track D11 begins with pairs of adjacent interrupted tracksections, which are exemplified by one pair of adjacent track sections29-30.

Also, on opposite sides of the three-quarter size interruption 38, the Aportion terminates in pairs of adjacent interrupted track sections suchas is exemplified by track sections, such as sections 36-37, while thefull-size portion begins with pairs of interrupted track sections suchas 39-40.

Again, on opposite sides of the full-size interruption 44, the full-sizeportion ends with pairs of track sections, such as sections 42-43, whilethe queen-size portion begins with sections in pairs exemplified bysections 45-46.

Finally, on opposite sides of the queen-size interruption, thequeen-size portion ends with pairs of sections, such as sections 48-49,while the king-size portion of guide track D11 begins with pairs oftrack sections such as 51-52.

REMOVABLE SECTIONS FOR TWIN-SIZE INTERRUPTIONS In accordance with myinvention, these interrupted track sections in one permanent portion ofthe guide track D11 are connected either to each other or to opposedinterrupted sections in the next permanent portion of the guide track.To this end, the twin-size interruption 28 is arranged to receive aremovable turn-around section for twin-size sewing operations and with aremovable extension section for larger sewing operations.

The twin-size turn-around track sections provided for interruption 28are designated 58. They are mounted on and preferably welded (orotherwise rigidly secured) to a base 59 which may be removably securedat (by bolts or other means) to the guide track base D10. The twinsizeturn-around track sections 58 are contoured or shaped) and positioned(or arranged) on the base 59 to interconnect adjacent interrupted tracksections 26 and 27 so as to receive a track pattern follower E15 comingfrom the twin-size portion and redirect it back into the twin-sizeportion.

The extension track sections provided in pairs for the twin-sizeinterruption 28 are designated 61 and 62. They are mounted on a base 63which may be removably secured at 60 to the guide-track base D10. Eachpair of extension track sections 61 and 62 connects track sections onone side of interruption 28 to track sections on the other side thereofso as either to receive a track pattern follower E15 coming from thetwin section and direct it onto the three-quarter section or vice versa.Thus, one extension truck section 61 interconnects track section 26 onthe twin-side of 28 with track section 30 on the other side thereof.Similarly extension track section 62 interconnects track section 27 onthe twin side of 28 with section 29 on the opposite side thereof.

REMOVABLE SECTIONS FOR OTHER INTERRUPTIONS When a quilt assembly for amattress is to be sewn, the turn-around sections 58 are removed from thetwinsize interruption 28 and replaced by extension sections 61-62 asseen in FIG. 5. At the same time, the interruption 38 for the size isprovidedwith turn-around sections 68 on base 69.

In preparing the machine for sewing full-size quilt assemblies,extension sections 61-62 are mounted in interruptions 28, extensionsections 71-72 are mounted in interruption 38 and turn-around sections68 are mounted in interruption 44.

Similarly to prepare the machine for queen-size quilt assemblies,extension sections are placed in interruptions 28, 38, and 44 while aturn-around section 68 is placed in interruption 50 as seen in FIG. 6.

The arrangement of FIG. 6 can be prepared for the sewing of king-sizeassemblies by removing the turnaround sections 68 from interruption 50and replacing it with extension sections 71-72.

REMOVABLE SECTIONS FOR CHANGING SEWING PATH In changing the guide-trackfrom one operative width to another, it will usually be necessary tomake some change in the sewing path. For example, the guide-track, asillustrated in FIG. 4, sets up one endless path with a turnaroundsection in the twin-size interruption 28. When the guide-track isextended to the size, a slight change in the sewing path is necessary inorder to have all sections of the guide-track cooperate to form onesingle continuous endless design.

For this reason, the permanent part of the twin-size portion of theguide-track is provided with two interruptions 74 and 75, as seen inFIG. 3. For twin-size sewing purposes, each of these interruptions isprovided with a removable pair of curved sections 76 suitably mounted inspaced back-to-back relationship on a base 77, as seen in FIG. 4. Thecurved track sections 76 (in the interruptions 74 and 75) cooperate withthe remainder of the guide-track to form a single continuous endlessguide for the twin-size sewing operation.

When the guide-track is expanded to the /1 size in the specific mannerhereinbefore described, the curved track sections 76 no longer cooperatewith the remainder of the guide-track to form one continuous endlessguide-path. However, FIG. 5 illustrates that, if each of the curvedsections 76, in each of the interruptions 74 and 75, is replaced by fourstraight track sections 78 arranged on a base 79 to form an open crossintersection, which preferably is constructed like all other open crossintersections, then each of these straight sections will cooperate withthe remainder of the guide-track to provide a single continuous endlesssewing guide of slightly modified contour for a sewing operation.

What is true of the sewing operation is also true of the queen-sizeoperation as indicated in FIG. 6 and of the king-size operation also butthe full-size operation requires one of said curved track sections 76 inthe interruption 74 and one of said straight track sections 78 in theother interruption 75.

It may be noted that the interruptions 74 and 75 may be replaced by theconventional cross intersections if the turn-around sections areappropriately rearranged.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that I have mounted, on asuitable base, a follower-driven quilt-guide means for use in sewingquilt assemblies of one size over a sewing area of given length andwidth and quilting assemblies of a larger size over a sewing area of thesame length and of greater width, which embraces the same width plus anextension thereof, comprising: (A) a base; (B) a first base-mountedguide-track extending over a base length and width corresponding to saidgiven length and width of said sewing area of one size, said guidetrackincluding (1) one first part extending over a. base length and widthcorresponding to said given length and to a portion of said given widthof said sewing area of one size; (C) a second base-mounted guide-trackextending over a length and width corresponding to said given length andto the width of the extension, which is embraced by said sewing oflarger size, (1) said second guide-track being spaced widthwise fromsaid one part of said first guide-track (a distance corresponding to theremainder of the width of said sewing area of one size) to providetherebetween an interruption extending over said given length and over awidth corresponding to the remaining portion of the width of said onesize; and (D) another first guide-track part removably mounted on saidbase over said interruption, (1) said other first part cooperating withsaid one first part to provide an endless path extending through bothparts in a manner reproducing the corresponding parts of an endlesssewing line design.

Since the first guide-track as a whole (element B) may be viewed ascorresponding to any size less than king-size, the second or element Cguide-track part may be similarly viewed as corresponding to any sizelarger than twin-size and as embracing those parts forming the widthextension required by the larger size. To illustrate, we assume that thefirst guide-track is of twin size. In this event, its one partconstitutes the permanent portion of the twin-size while its other part(element D) constitutes the removable section which is placed overinterruption 28 to complete the width of the twin size. Consequently,the second guidetrack part (element C) includes all of the guide-trackrequired beyond interruption 28 to complete any of the larger sizesranging from the three-quarter size to the kingsize. Additionally theother part of the first guide-track may be a turn-around section in onecase and an extension section in any of the other cases.

It will also be appreciated that my invention may be embodied in aquilting machine having one head or two heads and, in either embodiment,it provides an easy and simple means for rapidly adjusting the machinefor a sewing operation embracing any selected width within a desiredrange of widths. It will be understood that, where the length varies, aguide-track may be constructed in accordance with my invention toprovide for length adjustment.

Guide-track and quilt assembly mounting for quilting machine with twoheads Reverting to Table I, it will be noted that the length dimensionof the first 4 sizes listed in the table is 64" while the widthdimension varies from 28" to 64". Heretofore, it has been the practiceto provide a guide-track of full-length and half-width and to mount thatguidetrack upon the quilting machine in a position such that one sewinghead sews one design of full-length and halfwidth on the right-half ofthe quilt assembly while the other sewing machine sews a duplicatedesign of fulllength and half-width on the left-half of the quiltassembly. This presented problems because the constant spacing betweensewing heads maintained a constant widthwise spacing between duplicatedesigns whereas duplicate designs of one width require a widthwise headspacing of one order while duplicate designs of a different widthrequire a widthwise head spacing of a different order if the bestresults are to be attained.

In accordance with this particular aspect of my invention, I propose toprovide a guide-track of half-length and of sectionalized width so thatit may be adjusted to full-width and to mount that guide-track upon thequilting machine in a position such that one head sews one half-lengthfull-width pattern in the corresponding halflength and full-width of thetop-half of the quilt assembly while the other head sews the duplicatehalf-length, fullwidth pattern in the corresponding half-length andfullwidth of the bottom-half of the quilt assembly. With thisarrangement, the fixed spacing between sewing heads does not present anyproblem because it corresponds to the fixed or constant half-length ofeach design in the first four sizes while the sectionalized track can beadjusted in accordance with the variations in widths which are involvedin going from one quilt assembly size to another in the first foursizes.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the same double-headedquilting machine equipment, constructed in accordance with my invention,can be used to sew the first four sizes of quilting assemblies and tomaintain a constant 5" margin around each side and each end of thesewing area as a whole. It can also be used to sew a king-size assemblywith larger margins if such larger (1) a 1st means providing an endlessguide-track of one It will be appreciated that I have provided aquilting machine guide-track comprising:

A. a plurality of separate guide-track means including size, say twinsize, which includes (a) a primary section (from side edge 21 up tointerruption 28) and (b) a separate secondary section (i.e. turn-aroundsection 59 of FIG. 7) removably mounted in interruption 28 where itextends alongside the primary section, and

(2) a 2nd means for cooperating with said primary section to form anendless guide track of larger size (say three-quarter, full, queen orking size), any such larger size including (a) a separate section (i.e.extension section 63 of FIG. 8) removably mounted in interruption 28where it extends alongside said primary section (of the 1st guide-trackmeans) in place of said secondary section 59.

Again, the 1st means may be viewed as having a pri mary sectionextending up to interruption 38 and a secondary or turn-around section69 in interruption 38 with the 2nd means starting in interruption 38 andextending therefrom over part or all of the remainder of the guide trackbut, in any event, including a separate extension section 73 removablymounted in interruption 38 in place of the secondary turn-around section69. In FIG. 6, the 1st means extends from side edge 21 and terminateswith a turn-around section 69 in interruption 50 while the 2nd meansbegins with an extension section 73 in interruption 50 and continuesfrom that interruption to side edge 22.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A follower-driven quilt-guide means for use in sew- 40 ing quiltassemblies of one size over a sewing area of given length and width andquilting assemblies of a larger size over a sewing area of the samelength and of greater width, which embraces the same width plus anextension thereof, comprising:

A. a base;

B. a first base-mounted guide-track extending over a base length andwidth corresponding to said given length and width of said sewing areaof one size, said guide-track including (1) one first part extendingover a base length and width corresponding to said given length and to aportion of said given width of said sewing area of one size;

C. a second base-mounted guide-track extending over a length and widthcorresponding to said given length and to the width of the extension,which is embraced by said sewing area of larger size,

(1) said second guide-track being spaced widthwise from said one firstpart of said first guidetrack to provide therebetween an interruptionextending over said given length and over a width corresponding to theremaining portion of the width of said one size; and

D. another first guide-track part removably mounted on said base oversaid interruption,

(1) said other first part cooperating with said one first part toprovide a guide path extending through both parts in a mannerreproducing the corresponding parts of an endless sewing line design.

2. The guide means of claim 1 wherein:

A. said other first guide-track part is in the form of a turn-aroundtrack section which, when mounted in 7 said interruption, is operativeto receive a follower coming from said one first part and to direct thatfollower back into the same part so as to restrict said endless path tosaid first guide-track.

3. The guide means of claim 1 wherein:

A. said other first guide-track part is in the form of an extensiontrack section which, when mounted in said interruption, is operative toreceive a follower coming from said one first part and to direct thatfollower onto the second guide-track and vice versa so as to extend saidendless path from said first over said second guide-track.

4. A follower-driven quilt guide means for use in sewing quiltassemblies over sewing areas [ranging from small to large and being ofgiven lengths and of widths correspondingly ranging from small to large,comprising:

A. a guide-track extending over a length and width corresponding to thelength and width of said large sewing area,

(1) said guide-track being divided lengthwise, at intervals along itswidth, into sections such that the width dimension from one given longedge of the guide-track to the first subdivision corresponds to thewidth of said small sewing area, the width dimension from that same longedge to the second subdivision, corresponds to the width of the nextlarger sewing area and from said same long edge to the last subdivisioncorresponds to the width of the sewing area next to the largest,

(2) each section, between said one long edge and a subdivision, beingfurther subdivided lengthwise to provide, along the edge correspondingto its aforesaid subdivision, a removable extension section whichcooperates with the remainder of the guide-track as a whole to provide asingle continuous endless sewing line design for the sewing area of saidlargest size.

5. The guide means of claim 4 including:

A. a turn-around section adapted to replace one of said extensionsections,

(1) said turn-around section, when mounted in place of said extensionsection, cooperating with the remainder of the guide-track, between itand said one long edge, to provide a single continuous endlessguide-track extending from said one long edge to said turn-aroundsection and having its opposite long edge on said turnaround section.

6. In a quilting machine, a guide, comprising:

A. a plurality of separate guide track means including (1) a 1st meansproviding an endless guide track of one size,

(a) said 1st means including a primary section and a separate secondarysection removably mounted alongside said primary section, and

(2) a 2nd means for cooperating with said primary section to form anendless guide track of larger size,

(a) said 2nd means including a separate section removably mountedalongside said pri mary section in place of said. secondary section.

7. The guide of claim 6, wherein:

A. said primary section includes an end section.

8. The guide of claim 7, wherein:

A. said secondary section is a removable turn-around section,

(1) which cooperates with all sections on its one side adjacent to saidend section, to provide an endless guide-track of one width.

9. The guide of claim 8, including:

A. said separate section is an extension section positionable in placeof said turn-around section to provide,

in cooperation with sections on both sides of it, an endless guide-trackof greater width.

10. An improved quilting machine of the type in which amotorized-follower and a follower-engaged guide-track cooperate to movea frame-mounted carriage and a carriage-mounted quilt assembly along apath reproducing an endless sewing line design while a pair of spacedframemounted sewing means sews duplicates of said design into a selectedquilt assembly taken from a range of quilt assemblies of differentwidths for mattresses of different widths, such as those ranging fromtwin size through full size to king size, which vary in side-to-sidewidth from about 30% less to about 48% more than full size and intop-to-bottom length from about full size to about 14% more than fullsize, comprising:

A. a frame, including a head-frame arranged with its length dimensionextending transversely across the quilting machine;

B. a pair of sewing means, including a pair of sewing headstransversely-spaced on said head-frame;

C. manually selectable means to provide, for a quilt assembly ofselected width, a guide track, which reproduces an endless sewing linedesign having a width equal to the full width of the whole sewing areaof said selected quilt assembly and a length equal to a desired fractionof the full length of said whole sewing area; and

D. means for rendering said transversely'spaced sewing means operativeto sew a 1st reproduction of said design into said quilt assembly over a1st sewing area portion, which is of said full-width andfractional-length, and a 2nd reproduction thereof into atransversely-spaced 2nd sewing area portion, which is of the samefull-width and fractional-length, said means including (1) mountingmeans for holding the quilt assem- My on the carriage with the lengthdimension of the assembly extending transversely across the machine, and(2) means for mounting the guide-track with its fractional lengthdimension extending transversely across the machine and parallel to thelength dimension of said quilt assembly and with its full widthdimension extending longitudinally along the machine. 11. The machine ofclaim 10 wherein: A. said manually selectable means is composed of aplurality of sections which can be connected together (1) in onearrangement to provide an endless guide-track of one selected 'fullwidth and a desired fractional length for sewing one quilt assembly ofcorresponding width, and (2) in a different arrangement to provide anendless guide-track of a selected larger full width and a desiredfractional length for sewing another quilt assembly of correspondinglarger width.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,313,308 8/1919 Lutz 1121l72,279,628 4/1942 Marsack 1l2l17 FOREIGN PATENTS 807,712 1/1937 France.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. G. W. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

